Eco-Friendly Family
papagena
member
Poll #1
papagena
member
for all three of you that answered... *glares at the non answerers who are here* *but not too much because we need more action!!!!*
and if you say yes, I'm curious when/how you learned! Also - do you feel like you save a lot of $$ by doing it? I'm just getting into it this year. Totally enjoying it!
[Poll]
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Re: Poll #1
I do not. Never have. It's one of those things I wish I'd have learned from my grandmothers and was just too young at the time to I guess. I am seriously CLUELESS on it and how it works. LOL I'm sure it's worthwhile though!
ETA: AND I hear people say they don't do it cuz they are afraid of poisoning their family so that makes me scared to try it if that is a risk... Cuz I'd be the jackass who did. LOL
Don't drive away the people that don't know my little secret, Andrealynn... *looks around innocently*
I just started canning this summer. Well, all I've canned are about 25 lbs of peaches. I keep meaning to buy the bulk tomatoes from the local CSA so I can can some sauce and diced tomatoes but just haven't felt motivated and I've been tied up researching all the crap that is apparently required for a baby.
I checked out the Ball canning book from the library and used that. All the information is laid out really well and they have a nice FAQ section towards the back of the book.
Canning.
the 'secret' is the ongoing rumor that I'm a hairy old man. Not the case, FTR. I shave regularly.
2011 Reading Challenge
Added!
I've done a little canning over the last two years - mostly jams and applesauce. Last year I made enough applesauce (from free apples) to last the entire year, so it definitely saved us money.
This year it became an obsession. I discovered the steam canner and it changed my life. lol But it is really time consuming. Every spare moment I have is spent in my kitchen canning stuff, with the baby on my back and my toddlers screaming from the kitchen table. It makes for one hot kitchen!!
We have a garden and also do a CSA. I have been canning anything I have an excess of and am now running out of room on our shelves to store the jars. So far I've done - strawberry jelly, jalapeno jelly, green beans, dilly beans, pickled beets, okra, tomatoes, salsa, and some other stuff I can't remember. I still have to do peaches, pears, apples, grape jelly, spinach, carrots, sauerkraut, more okra, and pumpkin.
I made a goal for myself to only eat local organic food for the year. It's easy to do in the summer, but I know it will be a challenge this winter. Canning is the only way I will have enough fruits and veggies to feed my family.
So far I've only done jams, but I'm looking forward to doing more! Sadly, we don't have a CSA, and our garden didn't produce at all. I'm thinking of going to a semi-local farm for some tomatoes, because ours didn't grow very well, and I don't anticipate getting many before the frost. I so wanted to can or freeze sauce, though!
I've canned tomatoes for the last 3 years (diced & crushed), so I'm not a pro by any means, but I'm not a complete newbie. Honestly, it's very time consuming and not exactly cost efficient when you consider some canned tomatoes cost $1/can. BUT, regular canned tomatoes have the highest BPA and they don't taste nearly as great as my canned tomatoes fresh from the in-law's garden. So, totally worth it, IMO.
I will add that I once made tomato sauce to can, and that was absolutely NOT worth the time and effort involved. The few cans I ended up with were like liquid gold in my house!!
Cycle #11: BFP
Yeah - I want to move to the Muir Glen Organic tomatoes if we continue to buy, because they're bpa free, so I figure I might be able to save a bit of $$.
And interesting on the sauce. I froze some several years ago when we had a decent crop, and since all I had to do was make it, toss it into ziplocks and put it in the freezer, I was pretty happy with it. perhaps I'll stick w freezing for any sauce I do (if I do it - I may just stick with the whole/crushed tomatoes).
Awwww, it's been while since I've seen a JT option on a poll. I'm all nostalgic now.
Hi, Juicy Toots owner! (DING! <---Google alert)
Never gets old.
I clicked the 'no, but I want to' option, but what I really needed was an option that said, 'no, I want to but I am terrified of botulism and don't trust myself not to poison my family.'
growing up, my mom and i canned jams and her famous chile relish sauce, as well as pears and applesauces.
Now I can green beans, pickles, dilly beans, applesauce, jams, jellies, stewed tomatoes, whole tomatoes, marinara, and the occasional carrots or soup bases. I would like to do more soups, but haven't looked for recipes. I'm also curious to try canning my own black beans and baked beans.